


E is for Eluding the Enemy

by MariaPriest



Series: Stargate Drabbles' Alphabet Challenge [5]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-05-09 22:30:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14724794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaPriest/pseuds/MariaPriest
Summary: Are Jack and Teal'c the hunters or the hunted?





	E is for Eluding the Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> Occurs sometime between "Spirits" and before "Meridian."

Sweat poured from the two men’s bodies in torrents, thanks to the high humidity of the jungle and their exertion. The running alone would’ve been enough, but the burdens they carried added greatly to their fluid loss.

The man in the lead stumbled over a vine and nearly dropped the woman he carried over his shoulder. As he fought to stay upright, he heard a moan issue from her lips.

His free arm went up like a shot to signal a halt to their run. The other man, and the one he carried, stopped inches shy of the leader.

The leader dragged in several deep breaths. He was annoyed that his companion didn’t seem to need to do so as well, but it didn’t surprise him. “She needs another injection. Him?”

The larger, darker man turned his attention to the burden he’d been carrying for several hours. A second later, he said, “I do not believe so, but it would be wise to inject him as well.”

Gently, they lowered their burdens to the ground and shed their backpacks. The leader withdrew two pre-filled syringes from his pack and handed one to his partner. “Left arm this time.”

Almost simultaneously, they injected the unconsciousness people through the fabric of their uniform sleeves. The leader reached out for the other syringe and then dropped them back into his pack. Cautiously, tenderly, he retracted one of the woman’s eyelids. There it was—a startling blue color surrounding a black center. He did the same to the man lying beside her. Blue as well, though a different hue, and just as startling.

“Drink, then we go,” he whispered. “They’re close.”

The other man nodded and took a long draught from his canteen. “I agree. Our pursuers are quite adept and most persistent.” He saw the worry in the leader’s eyes. “We will get them home.”

The leader nodded brusquely, though he didn’t feel the confidence the other man projected in his last statement. The enemy chasing them was more formidable than they had originally thought, and determined to take the two injured people from them. That determination canceled out the significant physical advantages they had over their pursuers.

Seconds later, they continued the run through the jungle, their burdens lovingly carried across their shoulders this time.

EEEE

One of the hunters silently called for a stop when the trail seemed to have disappeared yet again. He and his partner halted. As the first one cocked his head one way and slowly swiveled it in a 180-degree arc in an effort to capture any human sound in this jungle, the other stood back-to-back and copied him, giving them a 360-degree search.

The people they pursued were quite intelligent and skilled in eluding them. The hunted had laid down multiple false trails and sometimes, like now, just seemed to vanish. They had weaved circuitous routes, not giving a hint of where they were headed. The hunted had set traps as well—nothing lethal, just enough to slow them down. But the hunters stayed far enough apart from each other so that only one of them ever sprang a trap and was caught or injured and the other was free to remedy the situation.

The first hunter, dark skin glistening with heavy sweat, stopped his aural scan abruptly and leaned in the direction of the source of a sound that grabbed his attention. The other sensed the movement and stopped as well. Both automatically held their breaths and waited.

After several moments, the first man nodded once to confirm he had acquired their targets and signaled the direction they would take. The second one responded with a curt nod and a feral expression on his face, reddened with both blood and fury.

They breathed together and resumed their near-silent pursuit.

EEEE

The leader dared not stop again, despite the burning in his lungs, muscles, and bones. The woman seemed to have gained weight, but he knew that perception was simply a sign of his rapidly progressing exhaustion. He was tempted to hide her somewhere and come back for her when their pursuers had given up.

He snorted when he realized he was kidding himself. Those pursuing them would never give up.

However, the thought gave him an idea.

He signaled a stop again, smiling weakly when he heard a growl from his teammate.

The darker man drew close to the leader. “Why do you call a halt yet again?” he whispered harshly, almost breathlessly. His immense energy was flagging, despite his determination.

“They won’t give up. We have to stop them.” _Permanently_. Though he didn’t say that out loud, he could see that his companion understood the intention.

The thought of killing the hunters for simply chasing them to take the unconscious people was abhorrent to both men. Both were warriors and both had moral codes. But the two they carried were so important to them; nothing could prevent them from getting them home. So they would do what they had to do.

The enemy hunting them had to die.

The leader used gestures to lay out his plan. His teammate nodded his agreement.

EEEE

The hunters stopped their stealthy passage through the jungle when they sensed something had changed.

The native creatures, previously silent, now were making noise. Still quiet, but building in volume.

They melted into the cover provided by one of the gigantic purple-green fronds of a tree that stretched many feet toward the sky. In the darkness it provided, they opened their canteens and drank deeply from them. They checked each other’s wounds — none serious, but most of which would have been painful had adrenaline not been soaking every cell of their bodies. The dressings for those wounds that they had bothered to bandage were saturated with blood diluted by sweat.

Satisfied their injuries were relatively stable, they looked at each other. They communicated not with words but with subtle eye, facial, and head movements, almost telepathically exchanging ideas, weighing alternatives, and deciding on a plan.

They nodded a final time and went their separate ways for the first time since they began pursuing the enemy.

EEEE

The hunted leader perched in a tree. He strained to hear any unnatural sounds in the growing cacophony of the jungle. He sneered at the proverbial double-edge sword: though the return of the normal sounds of this environment hid their own, it made it more difficult to hear their hunters in time. His companion, he hoped, would have better luck as his hearing was more acute.

He figured if sound didn’t give away the enemies’ positions, their alien stench would.

They waited patiently for the time when the hunters would become the prey.

EEEE

Though neither of them could see or hear the other, they knew exactly where the other was as they scouted the area where they intuitively knew their enemy would be. Just as they knew they were walking into an ambush.

The lighter-skinned hunter felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and the knot in his gut tighten. They were near. He breathed deeply through his nose.

Yes, there it was. An alien scent to be sure, with hints of the universal smell of fear.

He crouched down further and began to circle in place slowly, looking and listening for anything else that didn’t fit.

EEEE

It was pure luck that the treed leader saw rather than heard the rustle of ground plants and the camouflaged clothing of the hunter. He took careful aim with his weapon and just before releasing the arrow, the hunter looked up.

Their eyes met. In the next instant, the man on the ground fired his zat and the man in the tree loosed his arrow.

 _Aw, crap! Not again!_ Jack O’Neill thought as the arrow pierced his left bicep, yet he never took his eyes off the kidnapper he and Teal’c had been pursuing for hours. When he heard the thud and a loud crack as the alien hit the jungle floor, he smirked. Hunched, he crept from his current position with as much stealth as he could. He found a good place to hide but still see fairly well around him — especially his downed opponent. Besides, he couldn’t bear to move any farther. The arrow kept catching on the abundant foliage, tearing his muscle a little more with each snag, and he wasn’t about to put down the zat for even a second. The damn thing would have to stay put for now.

EEEE

Hearing the zat’nik’atel fire gave Teal’c reason to smile grimly; hopefully, O’Neill had found and disabled one of them without further harm to himself. Now he had to maintain discipline and wait for the second one to reveal himself. Teal’c knew the second kidnapper was close; he could feel the man’s body heat but couldn’t yet pinpoint the location of the source.

Then he heard a scrunching sound some yards behind him, along with the sensation of greater heat. He whirled to face it, his own zat’nik’atel primed and ready to fire. He triggered the device a split second before the other man released his arrow.

The arrow, which would have bounced harmlessly off the Jaffa’s tac vest, sliced through the skin and muscle at the juncture where his neck and shoulder met. Teal’c paid no heed to this latest injury.

He covered the distance to the kidnapper swiftly and promptly bound the man’s wrists and ankles with the plastic cuffs O’Neill had them carry on every mission. He keyed the radio twice.

EEEE

_You go, big guy!_ Jack thought when he heard the zat fire. He grinned widely when he heard the soft signal in his ear a minute or so later. He keyed his twice as well, assuring Teal’c it was safe to join him.

Slowly he stood so Teal’c could find him easily. He wasn’t about to move yet; he’d had enough of the plant life jerking the arrow around in his arm.

He heard Teal’c well before he arrived. He chuckled when he saw the Jaffa — a sour expression on his face — dragging his kidnapper by the collar. He pointed to his “victim,” and Teal’c deposited his next to the fallen.

Without speaking, Teal’c came to stand in front of his friend. He looked at the arrow protruding from O’Neill’s arm before cocking his head expectantly at his friend. After a long pause, O’Neill nodded his consent, inhaled sharply, and clenched his teeth.

To stabilize the arrow shaft, Teal’c wrapped one hand around it where it exited Jack’s arm. With his free hand, he easily snapped it in two. He could feel the part remaining in O’Neill move, despite his best effort.

O’Neill hissed and swayed slightly from the bump in pain. Once he settled down and tucked his left hand in his belt, he took a good look at Teal’c recent wound and asked, “You okay?”

“My symbiote has begun to heal me. However, I will need to perform kel’no’reem before too many more hours pass.”

“Good, good. How about waking one of those jokers up first so we can find out where they hid Carter and Daniel.” He opened a small pocket on his vest and withdrew an ammonia capsule. “Take your pick.”

Solemnly, Teal’c took the capsule. Snapping and waving it under the nose of the lighter-skinned, slightly smaller of the two, he commanded, “Awaken _now!_ We have questions we require you to answer immediately.”

The hunted man awoke, sputtering and gagging at the noxious smell. He tried to swat Teal’c’s hand away but found he couldn’t use his arm; it was broken. “Please spare us.”

 _English. At least **something’s** going our way._ “If you don’t tell us where our friends are _right now_ , the only thing we’ll spare you is a lot of suffering before we kill you,” Jack said menacingly. He had the zat trained on both kidnappers.

The captive’s eyes opened wide with fear and certainty that the captor would do as he promised. “They are about a hundred paces that way,” he said, flicking his head to indicate the direction. “We meant them no harm. In fact, we were taking them home. There, they would be treated as precious gifts, more precious than our children.”

O’Neill nodded to Teal’c, who left to find the rest of SG-1. He frowned at the alien. “What’s your name?”

“I am called Jakreet. My comrade is called Tellcone.”

It surprised Jack to hear names so close to his and Teal’c’s. He took a much closer look at the two and was further surprised to see how closely they resembled them. _And bigger, taller, not as good-looking. Definitely not as good-looking_. “What makes them so precious to you, huh?”

Jakreet swallowed air, as his mouth was bone-dry. “People with eyes the color of theirs are highly desired on Proteana because their eyes are the color of the sea, home of our god. Sea-eyed people bring their owners much favor. Tellcone and I’ve been traveling through the Standing Ring of the Sea for some years in search of blue-eyed people to sell to those willing to pay.”

O’Neill’s brown eyes hardened as he listened to Jakreet’s explanation. The darkness within him that he was able to control began to flare up. “Sorry, Jakreet, they’re not for sale,” he said, a threatening edge to his tone.

Jakreet wasn’t ready to give up. “How about _one_ of them? We’ll pay you handsomely. Or maybe they can come for just a while, until they mate and produce a child?”

Jack became even more appalled. Before he could tear into the desperate man for his disgusting, insane idea, Teal’c’s voice intruded. “O’Neill, I have found them. They are unconscious and have minor injuries.”

The leader of SG-1 huffed out a breath of relief and along with that, his worry and adrenaline levels plummeted. He staggered a little but his anger at what had happened fed his ability to rapidly recover. “Good news, T. Come on back. I’ve got a plan.”

EEEE

The first phase of Jack’s plan involved marching Jakreet and dragging the still unconscious Tellcone to where they had hidden Daniel and Carter and finding out exactly what the aliens had done to his teammates.

Jack was so relieved to see Daniel and Carter. Jakreet and Tellcone had seen to their comfort. After all, they were an investment and likely to bring them more money the healthier they were. The men had placed them on beds of cushy foliage with those giant fronds rolled up for pillows.

“What did you do to ‘em?” Jack’s tone was icy and demanding.

So held by the angry power that emanated from the alien leader, Jakreet couldn’t pull his gaze away to look at Tellcone, who had finally begun to come around. “We-we-we had only m-m-m-meant to sedate them,” Jakreet stammered. He paused to collect himself; he dared not show any sign of weakness around the aliens. “But the woman fought back and screamed, waking up the rest of you.”

O’Neill remembered that short fight. Zat ready to fire, Jack had exited his tent to see Carter out cold. Teal’c, the first to leave the tents, was doubled over and clutching his belly; somehow one of the attackers had kicked the Jaffa in his most vulnerable spot. He never saw Daniel as someone out of his line of sight had clubbed him unconscious.

It took almost all the strength O’Neill had not to fire the zat again. He hated what they’d done to his teammates, and he loathed how they and their people were all too willing to treat other people like chattel.

During this short stretch of silence as O’Neill reconsidered the rest of his plan, he caught a cautionary look from Teal’c. Jack eased his finger off the zat trigger. “T, help out Jackrabbit. Not with our stuff, though. We need that for Carter and Daniel.”

Teal’c immobilized Jakreet’s broken arm with some vines and restrained his uninjured arm none too gently. He cut the cuffs around Tellcone’s ankles and assisted him to his feet. Out of caution, Teal’c used more vines to bind the kidnapper’s elbows together. Both captives now faced O’Neill.

“What you two clowns are doing is way too evil for words,” the leader of SG-1 said. “We’d be doing the galaxy a favor if we just went ahead and killed you.” He paused, pleased to see both of them fidget. “But _we’re_ civilized and since you didn’t kill us when you had the chance and your traps were pretty damn lame” — he smiled to himself when he saw hope on their faces — “we’ll let you go. With a warning. Find another line of work or I swear my friend here and I will track you down _again_ and finish what we probably should’ve done. People are _not_ supposed to be bought and sold, for cryin’ out loud.”

Teal’c glared at the two Proteanans, as if to underscore what O’Neill had said.

After another pause to let his words sink in, Jack continued, “Teal’c’ll take you to the ‘Gate now.” He saw a flash of thought on Jakreet’s face and immediately recognized it for what it was: a plan of his own in its infancy. Jack knew exactly what it would be; it’s what he would do if he were in their shoes. “And don’t even _think_ about enlisting more losers and coming right back. If I see or even _hear_ you on this rock again, I will kill you _dead_.” When he saw one of Teal’c’s eyebrows arch, he said softly, “Making a point about cockroaches*, T. I’ll fill you in later.”

O’Neill cleared his throat and let the anger rebuild. “And then _he’ll_ kill you again.” He nodded to Teal’c and signaled him to move out.

The Jaffa snarled at their prisoners and primed his staff. He pointed it at Tellcone and the zat at Jakreet. “Proceed.”

Tellcone looked down into Teal’c’s furious eyes. “Please. May we speak?”

Teal’c and Jack looked at each other. After a moment, Jack shrugged and rolled his head with put-upon contempt. “Speak,” ordered Teal’c.

“You had every right to end our lives, yet you did not. Thank you. We will . . . consider your words carefully.”

“Damn straight, skippy. Teal’c, get ‘em outta here.” He watched his friend prod the pair into starting their forced march and continued to do so until the jungle swallowed them up. It would be a while until Teal’c returned with Proteana’s ‘gate address and medical assistance from the SGC, along with a team left at the ‘gate just in case the aliens were stupid, crazy, or greedy enough to come back for their “bounty.”

The final phase of Jack’s plan was to check Daniel and Carter out. He lowered the zat and fought off the escalating pain and fatigue — he had work to do.

O’Neill, to avoid jarring his arm, knelt very slowly beside his second-in-command. He shook her gently by a shoulder and called her name. When there was no response, he knew the sedating drug she’d been given still had a hold on her. And since Daniel couldn’t even handle a full bottle of beer, Jack didn’t try to rouse him.

Cautiously, tenderly, he retracted one of Carter’s eyelids. There was what the aliens desired—a startling blue iris surrounding a black pupil. He did the same to Daniel. Just a different hue of blue and just as startling.

He smiled as he went about tending their injuries as best as a temporarily one-armed field medic could do, happy they were there for him to tend to, and happy Teal’c was there to help him keep them where they belonged.

the end  
copyright 2010

*This is a reference to the old (?) Raid bug spray commercials that says the product “kills ‘em dead.” 


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